Legarda Pushes for Declaration of Waling-Waling as Nat’l Flower

MANILA, January 31, 2013-Senator Loren Legarda is pushing for the declaration of the Waling-Waling as another national flower to make its beauty known to the whole country and to the world.

“The Waling-Waling’s beauty adorns our treetops, especially in Davao, Cotabato, and Zamboanga where it is endemic. But there are threats to its survival, as the flowers that grow and thrive in the wild are harvested for commercial and decorative purposes, and their habitat is destroyed by deforestation,” Legarda said.

In October 2012, Legarda filed Senate Bill 3307, or An Act Declaring the Waling-Waling Orchid as National Flower of the Philippines in Addition to Sampaguita as Declared in Proclamation No. 652 Dated 01 February 1934 by Governor-General Frank Murphy.

The bill, which was submitted for the Senate’s approval under Committee Report 497, was passed on second reading on January 28.

“The approval of this measure will place the Waling-Waling under protection, as it will mandate the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources to promulgate rules and regulations for conserving and propagating the Waling-Waling orchid together with Sampaguita,” the Senator stressed.

The Waling-Waling, known as the Queen of Philippine Orchids, has been confirmed by the National Museum of the Philippines as indigenous and endemic to our country, while the Sampaguita is native to India and Arabia.

“Our national symbols are vital to our identity as Filipinos. As we discover more about ourselves, we must also update the symbols that represent us. I believe that initiatives to do so increase the engagement of everyday Filipinos with the symbols of our nation, and aid in our nation-building process. Thus, in addition to Sampaguita, I hope that the Waling-Waling Orchid be declared a National Flower of the Philippines,” Legarda concluded.

Legarda Pushes for Declaration of Waling-Waling as Nat’l Flower

MANILA, January 31, 2013-Senator Loren Legarda is pushing for the declaration of the Waling-Waling as another national flower to make its beauty known to the whole country and to the world.

“The Waling-Waling’s beauty adorns our treetops, especially in Davao, Cotabato, and Zamboanga where it is endemic. But there are threats to its survival, as the flowers that grow and thrive in the wild are harvested for commercial and decorative purposes, and their habitat is destroyed by deforestation,” Legarda said.

In October 2012, Legarda filed Senate Bill 3307, or An Act Declaring the Waling-Waling Orchid as National Flower of the Philippines in Addition to Sampaguita as Declared in Proclamation No. 652 Dated 01 February 1934 by Governor-General Frank Murphy.

The bill, which was submitted for the Senate’s approval under Committee Report 497, was passed on second reading on January 28.

“The approval of this measure will place the Waling-Waling under protection, as it will mandate the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources to promulgate rules and regulations for conserving and propagating the Waling-Waling orchid together with Sampaguita,” the Senator stressed.

The Waling-Waling, known as the Queen of Philippine Orchids, has been confirmed by the National Museum of the Philippines as indigenous and endemic to our country, while the Sampaguita is native to India and Arabia.

“Our national symbols are vital to our identity as Filipinos. As we discover more about ourselves, we must also update the symbols that represent us. I believe that initiatives to do so increase the engagement of everyday Filipinos with the symbols of our nation, and aid in our nation-building process. Thus, in addition to Sampaguita, I hope that the Waling-Waling Orchid be declared a National Flower of the Philippines,” Legarda concluded.

Legarda Pushes for Declaration of Waling-Waling as Nat’l Flower

MANILA, January 31, 2013-Senator Loren Legarda is pushing for the declaration of the Waling-Waling as another national flower to make its beauty known to the whole country and to the world.

“The Waling-Waling’s beauty adorns our treetops, especially in Davao, Cotabato, and Zamboanga where it is endemic. But there are threats to its survival, as the flowers that grow and thrive in the wild are harvested for commercial and decorative purposes, and their habitat is destroyed by deforestation,” Legarda said.

In October 2012, Legarda filed Senate Bill 3307, or An Act Declaring the Waling-Waling Orchid as National Flower of the Philippines in Addition to Sampaguita as Declared in Proclamation No. 652 Dated 01 February 1934 by Governor-General Frank Murphy.

The bill, which was submitted for the Senate’s approval under Committee Report 497, was passed on second reading on January 28.

“The approval of this measure will place the Waling-Waling under protection, as it will mandate the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources to promulgate rules and regulations for conserving and propagating the Waling-Waling orchid together with Sampaguita,” the Senator stressed.

The Waling-Waling, known as the Queen of Philippine Orchids, has been confirmed by the National Museum of the Philippines as indigenous and endemic to our country, while the Sampaguita is native to India and Arabia.

“Our national symbols are vital to our identity as Filipinos. As we discover more about ourselves, we must also update the symbols that represent us. I believe that initiatives to do so increase the engagement of everyday Filipinos with the symbols of our nation, and aid in our nation-building process. Thus, in addition to Sampaguita, I hope that the Waling-Waling Orchid be declared a National Flower of the Philippines,” Legarda concluded.

Legarda Pushes for Declaration of Waling-Waling as Nat’l Flower

MANILA, January 31, 2013-Senator Loren Legarda is pushing for the declaration of the Waling-Waling as another national flower to make its beauty known to the whole country and to the world.

“The Waling-Waling’s beauty adorns our treetops, especially in Davao, Cotabato, and Zamboanga where it is endemic. But there are threats to its survival, as the flowers that grow and thrive in the wild are harvested for commercial and decorative purposes, and their habitat is destroyed by deforestation,” Legarda said.

In October 2012, Legarda filed Senate Bill 3307, or An Act Declaring the Waling-Waling Orchid as National Flower of the Philippines in Addition to Sampaguita as Declared in Proclamation No. 652 Dated 01 February 1934 by Governor-General Frank Murphy.

The bill, which was submitted for the Senate’s approval under Committee Report 497, was passed on second reading on January 28.

“The approval of this measure will place the Waling-Waling under protection, as it will mandate the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources to promulgate rules and regulations for conserving and propagating the Waling-Waling orchid together with Sampaguita,” the Senator stressed.

The Waling-Waling, known as the Queen of Philippine Orchids, has been confirmed by the National Museum of the Philippines as indigenous and endemic to our country, while the Sampaguita is native to India and Arabia.

“Our national symbols are vital to our identity as Filipinos. As we discover more about ourselves, we must also update the symbols that represent us. I believe that initiatives to do so increase the engagement of everyday Filipinos with the symbols of our nation, and aid in our nation-building process. Thus, in addition to Sampaguita, I hope that the Waling-Waling Orchid be declared a National Flower of the Philippines,” Legarda concluded.

Team PNoy, not Team Pinoy, clarifies Drilon

MANILA, January 30, 2013-The campaign manager of the administration senatorial candidates, Liberal Party stalwart Senator Franklin M. Drilon, today clarified that the pro-administration senatorial coalition team was named Team PNoy and not Team Pinoy as being reported in the media.

Team PNoy, a coalition that was formed among the Liberal Party-Nacionalista Party-Nationalist People's Coalition and Akbayan last year, is, aside from P-Noy, the most common and preferred reference to President Aquino.

It is the real and only team of the President for the upcoming mid-term elections, stressed Drilon.

“These are the people who the President chose to be his team in order to push his reforms for the last three years of his administration. It is clear to him: ito ang kasama ko sa tuwid na daan,” he said.

“This is his team and he is asking his people to support his team because he has a number of reforms to push for the last three years of his administration. Kung may tiwala sila kay Presidente, iboboto nila itong kasama ni Presidente.” he added.

He also said the coalition’s new-found name clearly draws the line between the people who chose to align with the President’s reforms and to pursue straight path in carrying out their roles in the Senate and those who are only disguising as “matuwid.”      

While there are others who are trying to join the “Daang Matuwid”, not everyone is sincere, not everyone can be trusted, said Drilon. There are 12 names that PNoy can trust: Rep. Sonny Angara, Bam Aquino, Sen. Alan Cayetano, Sen. Francis Escudero, former Rep. Rissa Hontiveros, Sen. Loren Legarda, former Sen. Jamby Madrigal, former Sen. Ramon Magsaysay, Jr., Sen. Koko Pimentel, Grace Poe, Sen. Antonio Trillanes and former Rep. Cynthia Villar.

Also, the Team PNoy implies that all the candidates running under this team are under the tutelage of the President, ended Drilon.

UNA wants to turn PNoy into a lame duck president, says Drilon

MANILA, January 30, 2013-Senator Franklin M. Drilon, the campaign manager of Team PNoy today said the victory of the administration senatorial candidates in the May 2013 elections will thwart any plan of the opposition to turn President Aquino into a lame duck leader in the next three years.

Drilon, a Liberal Party stalwart, also stressed that the victory of the administration’s senatorial bets in the upcoming elections will play a crucial role in escalating the reforms that President Aquino intends to do in the last three years of his governance.

“In the last three years of this administration, the opposition is trying to make this administration a lame duck. We are conscious of that. The President is conscious of that. We draw the line and we will not be lame duck. We will have the majority of the people with us because we still have reforms to do,” emphasized Drilon.

“That’s a challenge for us. We will show that for the next three years, we will do things correctly; we will do things in a manner that a decent right-thinking will do regardless of politics,” he added.

Drilon also said the President is ready to campaign for his team to ensure its victory in order to help him push the reform measures he wants to see in the next three years.

“He is not afraid to spend his political capital because there are a lot of reforms that he has to do in the last three years of his administration and it is essential that he should have the majority in the Senate in order that he can push these reforms,” explained Drilon.

“The platform of the President is daang matuwid. The President is taking his political capital on this advocacy. He has chosen a team that he will tell in his people: give me the majority in the Senate that can help me push my programs for the last three years,” he added.

Drilon also challenged the rival party, the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), to define the lines by coming out as the opposition.

“Let’s define the lines. We are the administration; you are the opposition. There is nothing wrong with that. In democracy, opposition is necessary,” he said.

“We have to do that because we want to define where we are and where they are. In my 15 years of experience in the Senate, I have proven that this is the most unmanageable group. Look, in the recent past and even today, can you tell me who is in the majority and the minority in the Senate?” ended Drilon.

Legarda: Senate Concurs in Ratification of Treaty Establishing UNESCO Learning Center for Sustainable Dev’t.

Senator Loren Legarda today celebrated the Senate’s concurrence in the ratification of the agreement between the Philippine government and the UNESCO to establish the Southeast Asian Center for Lifelong Learning for Sustainable Development (SEA CLLSD) in the country.

“The establishment of the SEA CLLSD envisions the creation of an educational framework that works for sustainable development. It seeks to develop and provide appropriate learning programs, which aim to benefit the marginalized, the disadvantaged, and the under-served members of the population, including our indigenous peoples, our out-of-school youth and our non-literate adults,” she said.

Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said that broadly defined in UNESCO parlance, lifelong learning encompasses formal, non-formal, and informal modes of providing education to learners, with the end view of empowering people of all ages to become responsible for their surroundings and for them to strive for a sustainable environment.

She added that the Center provides the Philippines an opportunity for technical exchanges, collaboration and cooperation with its neighbors in the area of lifelong education for sustainability. 

“Through this, we are able to share, compare, and learn from one another’s practices and experiences. We can expect to continuously renew, improve and innovate on our learning and education systems to serve the higher goals of social development and sustainability,” Legarda concluded.

BICAM REPORT ON SWIFT, INEXPENSIVE LABOR DISPUTE SETTLEMENT GETS SENATE NOD

MANILA, January 30, 2013-The bicameral conference committee report which seeks to institutionalize conciliation-mediation as mode for voluntary labor dispute settlement was adopted by the Senate last Monday.

 

Conciliation-mediation is described as “a non-litigious, non-adversarial, less expensive and expeditious mechanism in assisting contending parties towards reaching their own mutually-acceptable settlement to the labor dispute.”

 

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, principal author of the measure, says that the report on the disagreeing provisions on Senate Bill 2918 and House Bill 6686 prescribes that all cases arising from labor and employment shall now be subject to mandatory conciliation-mediation.

 

Sen. Estrada, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development, says that the measure follows the success made by the Single Entry Approach (SEnA) Program implemented by the Department of Labor and Employment.

 

Under the SEnA, labor disputes (including money claims, termination of employment, unfair labor practice, OFW cases, among others) shall undergo a 30-day mandatory conciliation-mediation process to effect settlement between parties.

 

Since the implementation of the SEnA in October 2010 up to August 2012, the DOLE Regional Offices settled 71% of the cases referred to them, while other attached agencies settled 81% of the cases.

 

“This alternative labor dispute mechanism does away with the hassle of going through the usually brutal and slow process of adjudication and litigation. As we have seen in the initial implementation based on SEnA, this has effectively declogged the adjudication system and allowed parties to reach agreeable settlement without delay and through continued dialogues” Jinggoy states.